Always My Pleasure
by jlybelly
Summary: Tahno finds Korra moping at a bar, and tries to lighten her spirits. Slight Masami, primarily Tahorra. T rating is for mild language. One-shot.


******Disclaimer: I don't own Tahno, Korra, Mako, Asami, or any other elements of Legend of Korra which you may find in this story. It is written purely for my own amusement, and I'm happily sharing it with all of you. Please do enjoy!**

******Most of my fanfictions derive from prompts on tumblr. This one, however, did not. If you wish to request a prompt, you can message me directly here, or go to my rp tumblr, freshkorra.**

He hated seeing her like this.

He hated the way her eyes followed that firebender everywhere.

He hated the fact that the thing she wanted most was something he couldn't give her.

And he hated the firebender for causing her this much pain.

He couldn't remember a time when he had so much hate for a single situation, but, dammit, that watertribe girl deserved to be happy.

As he slowly approached her at the bar, a mantra echoed in his head, _'____That damned firebender.'_

"Hello, my lovely little Avatar," he said as he reached her—eyes locked on Mako, head resting on her arms which were folded on the table in front of her, hunched forward. She grunted in response, not even glancing at him. Tahno's hand felt around inside his jacket for a rose.

Finding none, he frowned. That's right. He gave one to that foxy lady he had seen on the street that morning. It was his classic red one.

_'____Red isn't suitable for the current situation,' _he convinced himself, sitting down at a stool directly beside the Avatar.

"Still pining after that spiky-haired, blind-as-a-Wolfbat—" well that was clever "—firebender? What's is name? Namo? Mi—"

"It's Mako," she answered, obviously slightly enraged, but still not looking at him.

"Were those words?" Tahno asked, eyes widening in shock. "I can't beli—"

"Cut it out, Tahno," she snarled. "I'm not in the mood to deal with your insults."

So Tahno sat there quietly for awhile, not sure how to interact with the Avatar without insults, but not wanting to stop interacting with the Avatar.

Eventually, his eyes wandered to the same focal point as Korra's: Mako and Asami.

The sight made him audibly gag.

"Sickening, isn't it?" Korra asked, rolling her eyes at the couple. "He just hangs all over her, and lets her do the same. Three weeks ago, he was about to kick me out because he thought I was a fangirl, and now…." she sighed, not even finishing the sentence.

"Following him around isn't going to help," Tahno said softly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Korra demanded, hands slamming down on the counter as she turned to face him, a scowl deforming her perfect face.

"Exactly what I said," Tahno shrugged, his voice just as soft and honest as before. "That following Mako around is not going to get his attention or stop him from going out with Asami."

Korra's shoulders relaxed and her head fell forward. A sigh. "You're right. I don't know what I'm doing here. I better get back to the Island." She got up to leave, her hand trailing behind her slightly on the countertop.

No. That wasn't what Tahno had wanted. Not what he meant. Without realizing it, he saw that his hand had reached out and grasped Korra's. She was looking at him, expecting some sort of argument.

She waited for a response. Waited a little longer. She was growing impatient. She was turning away.

"Doyouwannadance?" Tahno blurted, not even sure of what he had just asked.

"What?"

He thought over what he had said—what ___had_ he said?—and formulated the words more concretely. "Would you like to dance with me, darling Avatar?" he asked, more formerly and charismatically, offering a slight bow as he stood.

She eyed him suspiciously, then her eyes shot to Mako for a second, then back to Tahno. She sighed again. "Fine."

The particular song playing at the time was a slow, soft jazz number, so Tahno placed one hand on her middle back, and took one of her hands in his other. She placed her free hand on his shoulder and they were off.

Awkwardly.

Not to say that the dancing itself was awkward; they both kept time fairly well, and there wasn't a whole lot of stepping on each other's feet. What was awkward was that Tahno was genuinely enjoying the dance and Korra's eyes were still locked on Mako.

He let it continue like this for a few measures, but then when her eyes still weren't leaving the firebender, he spoke up;

"If you love something, let it go," Tahno said.

"What?"

"It's an old saying. If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it's yours. If it doesn't, then it never was."

He looked down at her. Her eyebrows were furled slightly, and a frown was set firmly on her face. She looked like she was seriously considering this idea. Tahno quietly let her think this through as his eyes returned to randomly focusing on other dancers in the room.

After a few silent moments passed, Tahno felt the girl gently move herself closer, resting her head softly against his chest. He looked down, expecting it to be a trick of his mind, but there was no trick. A pleasantly surprised smile spread across Tahno's lips. They swayed like that for awhile, until the band started picking up a quicker beat.

Tahno pulled away from Korra slightly, looking down at her questioningly, asking for permission to quicken their own pace. When a smile greeted his request, he gladly lifted Korra off her feet slightly, spinning her around, joining the swing dancing style of those around them.

A peal of light, free laughter rang through Tahno's ears. _'____That's the spirit,' _he thought, _'____forget him entirely. Be happy with me. You don't need him.'_

Their dance continued, and Tahno spun, lifted, and dipped Korra every chance that he got, happy to oblige in helping Korra get over her crush, regardless of how temporarily this might work.

After a few seamlessly-transitioned songs, Tahno ended the night with a dramatic lift and dip, and Korra's wonderful chuckle was louder than ever before. Tahno's smile was uncontrollable as he helped her back to her feet.

She was smiling, trying to control her breathing from her laughter. It took some time, but slowly it was controlled. She looked at Tahno, and her smile—her ridiculous, magical smile—found a way to both widen and soften. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Tahno's waist in an affectionate hug.

As taken aback as Tahno was, he didn't hesitate in returning the display.

"Always my pleasure," he said.

**__****A/N: I know. I know. I just have the most creative titles.**


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